Voice analyzer and voice analysis system

• US 9,129,611 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2012
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Nishino, Yohei, Harada, Haruo, Shimotani, Kei, Yoneyama, Hirohito, Iida, Kiyoshi, Fujii, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): Serrou, Abdelali
• Application Number:
  US13/465,230
• Publication Number:
  US 20130173266A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,219 Days
• Field of Search: 704/215, 704/236, 704/246, 704/270, 704/270.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/00 Speaker identification or verification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/51 for comparison or discrimination

Abstract

A voice analyzer includes a first voice acquisition unit provided in a place where a distance of a sound wave propagation path from a mouth of a user is a first distance, plural second voice acquisition units provided in places where distances of sound wave propagation paths from the mouth of the user are smaller than the first distance, and an identification unit that identifies whether the voices acquired by the first and second voice acquisition units are voices of the user or voices of others excluding the user on the basis of a result of comparison between first sound pressure of a voice signal of the voice acquired by the first voice acquisition unit and second sound pressure calculated from sound pressure of a voice signal of the voice acquired by each of the plural second voice acquisition units.

Claims

1. A voice analyzer comprising:

a first voice acquisition unit that is provided in a place where a distance of a sound wave propagation path from the mouth of a user is a first distance and that acquires a voice of the user;

a plurality of second voice acquisition units that are provided in places where distances of sound wave propagation paths from the mouth of the user are smaller than the first distance and that acquire a voice of the user; and

an identification unit that identifies whether the voices acquired by the first and second voice acquisition units are voices of the user or voices of others excluding the user on the basis of a result of comparison between first sound pressure of a voice signal of the voice acquired by the first voice acquisition unit and second sound pressure calculated from sound pressure of a voice signal of the voice acquired by each of the plurality of second voice acquisition units.

2. The voice analyzer according to claim 1,

wherein the largest sound pressure of the voice signals of the voices acquired by the second voice acquisition units is calculated as the second sound pressure, and

the identification unit identifies whether the voices acquired by the first and second voice acquisition units are voices of the user or voices of others excluding the user on the basis of a result of comparison between the first sound pressure and the largest sound pressure of the voice signals.

3. The voice analyzer according to claim 1,

wherein the plurality of second voice acquisition units are provided in different places in a shoulder width direction of the user.

4. The voice analyzer according to claim 2,

wherein the plurality of second voice acquisition units are provided in different places in a shoulder width direction of the user.

5. A voice analyzer comprising:

an apparatus body;

a hanging string that is connected to the apparatus body and is used when the apparatus body is hung from a neck of a user;

a first voice acquisition unit that is provided in the hanging string or the apparatus body, that is provided in a place where a distance of a sound wave propagation path from the mouth of the user, which is a distance when the apparatus body is hung from the neck of the user, is a first distance, and that acquires a voice of the user;

a plurality of second voice acquisition units that are provided in the hanging string, that are provided in places where distances of sound wave propagation paths from the mouth of the user, which are distances when the apparatus body is hung from the neck of the user, are smaller than the first distance, and that are provided such that positions in a shoulder width direction of the user that are positions when the apparatus body is hung from the neck of the user are different;

an identification unit that is provided in the apparatus body and that identifies whether the voices acquired by the first and second voice acquisition units are voices of the user or voices of others excluding the user on the basis of a result of comparison between first sound pressure of a voice signal of the voice acquired by the first voice acquisition unit and second sound pressure calculated from sound pressure of a voice signal of the voice acquired by each of the plurality of second voice acquisition units; and

a transmission unit that is provided in the apparatus body and that transmits information regarding the voice signal, which includes an identification result of the identification unit, to an external device.

6. The voice analyzer according to claim 5,

wherein the hanging string has an annular portion so that the neck of the user passes through the annular portion,

a first portion, which extends from the back of the neck of the user toward the suspended apparatus body through a right shoulder side of the user, and a second portion, which extends from the back of the neck toward the suspended apparatus body through a left shoulder side of the user, are provided in the annular portion of the hanging string, and

one of the plurality of second voice acquisition units is provided in one of the first and second portions of the hanging string, and another one of the plurality of second voice acquisition units is provided in the other one of the first and second portions.

7. The voice analyzer according to claim 5,

wherein the largest sound pressure of the voice signals of the voices acquired by the second voice acquisition units is calculated as the second sound pressure, and

the identification unit identifies whether the voices acquired by the first and second voice acquisition units are voices of the user or voices of others excluding the user on the basis of a sound pressure ratio that is a ratio between the first sound pressure and the largest sound pressure of the voice signals.

8. The voice analyzer according to claim 6,

wherein the largest sound pressure of the voice signals of the voices acquired by the second voice acquisition units is calculated as the second sound pressure, and

the identification unit identifies whether the voices acquired by the first and second voice acquisition units are voices of the user or voices of others excluding the user on the basis of a sound pressure ratio that is a ratio between the first sound pressure and the largest sound pressure of the voice signals.

9. The voice analyzer according to claim 5,

wherein the hanging string has a cylindrical structure, and

each of the second voice acquisition units provided in the hanging string is provided at the inside of the hanging string.

10. The voice analyzer according to claim 6,

wherein the hanging string has a cylindrical structure, and

each of the second voice acquisition units provided in the hanging string is provided at the inside of the hanging string.

11. The voice analyzer according to claim 7,

wherein the hanging string has a cylindrical structure, and

each of the second voice acquisition units provided in the hanging string is provided at the inside of the hanging string.

12. The voice analyzer according to claim 8,

wherein the hanging string has a cylindrical structure, and

each of the second voice acquisition units provided in the hanging string is provided at the inside of the hanging string.

13. A voice analysis system comprising:

a terminal apparatus worn by a user; and

a host apparatus that acquires information from the terminal apparatus,

wherein the terminal apparatus includes;

a first voice acquisition unit that is provided in a place where a distance of a sound wave propagation path from the mouth of a user is a first distance and that acquires a voice of the user;

a plurality of second voice acquisition units that are provided in places where distances of sound wave propagation paths from the mouth of the user are smaller than the first distance and that acquire a voice of the user;

an identification unit that identifies whether the voices acquired by the first and second voice acquisition units are voices of the user or voices of others excluding the user on the basis of a result of comparison between first sound pressure of a voice signal of the voice acquired by the first voice acquisition unit and second sound pressure calculated from sound pressure of a voice signal of the voice acquired by each of the plurality of second voice acquisition units; and

a transmission unit that transmits speaking information, which is information regarding the voice signal including an identification result of the identification unit, to the host apparatus, and

the host apparatus includes;

a receiving unit that receives the speaking information transmitted from the terminal apparatus;

a storage unit that stores the speaking information received by the receiving unit for the terminal apparatus that transmits the speaking information;

an analysis unit that analyzes the speaking information stored in the storage unit; and

an output unit that outputs an analysis result of the analysis unit.

14. The voice analysis system according to claim 13,

wherein as one analysis, the analysis unit of the host apparatus compares the speaking information acquired from the plurality of terminal apparatuses and identifies speaking information of a user participating in a specific conversation on the basis of time information regarding a voice included in the speaking information.